Socrates in Book Two: The Fifteenth Year of the Third Millennium of the Common Era

  • Oct. 20, 2015, 10:41 a.m.
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One of the most important phrases in my life has been “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates said that… and allegedly, he is also the man that said “I know nothing save for the fact that I know nothing.” As he was described to me through my undergraduate career… he is best understood as “The Challenging Philosopher” not for the sake of being a dick, but for the sake of expanding his understanding. At least as he was discussed in my undergraduate studies.... he was the kind of man who would (this is a metaphor) walk around with his hands out saying “I have 9 grains of salt in my hands, who has more?” Yet everywhere he went, people would volunteer their grains of salt; but not one person had 9 or more. Thus… Socrates gained knowledge from others while maintaining his reputation as “smartest man”.

But… decades before I began my undergraduate study of Religion and Philosophy… the quote attributed to Socrates controlled me life: THE UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING
Ultimately, it is why I am so constantly self-reflective… it is why I’m not surprised that I married a woman who “thinks herself into depression and anxiety.” But ultimately… the way I understood that quote? If your life is not worth writing about… if your Biography would hold no lessons or wisdom for future generations… than truly you have lived a hollow and pathetic life. And that is how I have always approached my own life, my own self-reflection, my own legacy.
The question that persists: Would your life merit a biography?

I took a break from writing this and never came back to it. But… posting as is because the whole Unexamined Life thing really is a big deal to me.


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